Wine extraction and preservation device and method

ABSTRACT

Devices and methods are disclosed for extracting fluids from within a container sealed by a cork or septum without removal of the cork or septum or the contamination of the fluid within the container by reactive gases or liquids. Embodiments of the device can include a needle connected to a valve which is in turn connected to a source of pressurized gas for displacing the fluid. Further embodiments of the device can comprise additional components that act to force the needle to be inserted through the cork or septum along a linear path, to aid in preventing buckling of the needle, to clamp the device to the container, to prevent expulsion of the cork or septum from the container, and to guide the needle through a specified region of the cork or septum. Various valves, pressure regulators, pressure ranges, needle geometries, gas selections are also presented. This device is particularly suited for the dispensing and preservation of wine.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/925,972 filed on Nov. 3, 2010, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 12/798,415 filed on Apr. 2, 2010, which is adivisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/010,598 filed on Dec. 13,2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,712,637 which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/528,565 filed Dec. 11, 2003, the entireteachings of these applications being incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates generally to the dispensing or extracting offluids from within containers and finds particular utility in thedispensing and preservation of wine.

2. Summary of the Invention

The field of the invention includes devices and methods for extractingfluids from within containers.

An object of one or more embodiments of the invention is to allow a userto withdraw a volume of liquid from within a container that is sealed bya cork, plug or elastomeric septum without removing the cork, septum orclosure device. It is a further object of one or more embodiments of theinvention to allow removal of liquid from such a container repeatedlywithout causing enough damage to the cork that either gas or fluidexchange through the cork is possible under standard storage conditions.It is a further object of one or more embodiments of the invention toensure that no gas which is reactive with the liquid passes into thecontainer either during or after extraction of fluid from within thecontainer.

Various embodiments of the invention enables the user to withdraw winefrom within a wine bottle without removal of, or damage to the cork thatwould allow undesired gaseous or liquid egress or ingress during orafter extraction of wine.

One embodiment of the invention involves at least one or more needle,valve, and source of pressurized gas. The needle is connected to thevalve which is in turn connected to the source of pressurized gas. Theneedle is passed through the cork or between the cork and an interiorwall of the bottle until it makes contact, at a minimum, with theinterior of the bottle beyond the cork. Prior to or following insertionof the needle, the bottle is positioned such that the liquid content ofthe bottle can contact at least a portion of the needle. The valve isthen opened such that pressurized gas can pass through the needle intothe interior of the bottle. The valve is then switched to a positionpreventing further ingress of gas while allowing the liquid contents ofthe bottle to be expelled from the bottle through the needle by thepressurized gas now within the bottle. Once a desired amount of liquidcontent has been removed from the bottle, the bottle is thenrepositioned such that the pressurized gas content of the bottle is incontact with at least a portion of the needle so that the gas may beexpelled from the bottle until there is no or an acceptably low pressuredifferential between the bottle and atmosphere. The needle is thenremoved from the cork.

In a preferred embodiment, the needle is a smooth exterior walled,cylindrical needle with a non-coring tip that can be passed through thecork without removing any material from the cork. The preferrednon-coring tip is a pencil-tip that dilates a passageway through thecork, although deflected-tip and stylet needles have also been found towork and could be used in alternative embodiments. The pencil-tip needlepreferably has at least one lumen extending along its length from atleast one inlet on the end opposite the pencil-tip and at least oneoutlet proximal to the pencil-tip. The preferred outlet is through theside-wall of the needle.

With the correct needle gauge, it has been found that the passagewaythat remains following removal of such a needle self-seals againstegress or ingress of fluids and gasses under normal storage conditions.While multiple needle gauges can work, preferred needle gauges rangefrom 16 to 22 gauge, with the optimal needle gauge being between 17 and20 gauge. These needles gauges offer optimal fluid flow with minimalpressures while doing an acceptably low level of damage to the cork evenafter repeated insertions and extractions.

Multiple needle lengths can be adapted to work within the scope of thepresent invention, however it has been found that a minimum needlelength of 1.5 inches is required to pass through standard corks. Needlesas long as 9 inches could be employed, but the optimal range of lengthhas been found to be between 2 and 2.6 inches. The needle may beconnected to the valve directly through any standard fitting (e.g. NPT,RPT, Leur, quick-connect or standard thread) or alternatively may beconnected to the valve through an additional means such as a flexible orrigid tube. When two or more needles are used their lengths may be thesame or different and vary from 0.25 inches to 10 inches. Creatingdistance between the inlet/outlets of the needles can prevent theformation of bubbles.

While many standard valves could be employed, two are of particularutility for this application. The first is a three-way trumpet or spoolvalve. Such valves have a piston which slides within a cylinder. Thepiston is moved downward into the cylinder by the user depressing abutton connected to or integral to the piston. The piston is movedupward by a return spring in contact with the piston. When the piston isdepressed by the user, a first passageway through the cylinder allowspassage of gas from a pressurized gas source connected to the valve atthe “gas connection” into the needle connected to the valve at the“needle connection”. Gas is allowed to enter the bottle through theneedle until the user decides to release the piston. When the piston isreleased by the user, the spring pushes the cylinder upward exposing asecond passageway through the cylinder which allows passage of thepressurized content in connection with the needle to pass through thecylinder to a “valve exit”. This valve exit may, for example be a simplehole positioned above a glass or may be a tube leading to a secondarycontainer. This process may be repeated until a desired amount of liquidis removed from the bottle. The user then positions the bottle such thatpressurized gas within the bottle is in contact with at least one outletof the needle. With the valve cylinder released, pressurized gas canthen vent from the bottle through the needle connection and out of thevalve exit until a desired final pressure is reached. The needle is thenremoved from the cork.

The second advantageous valve is an automatic, pressure regulated valve.The primary function of this valve is to maximize the rate of liquidcontent egress through the needle by automatically maintaining anoptimal pressure range within the bottle. A secondary function of such avalve is to control the final pressure within the bottle just prior toremoval of the needle from the cork. Such a valve could be operated by auser through the use of a toggle between two valve positions—extract andvent. In the extract position a passage between the pressurized gassource and the needle would be opened by the valve until a desiredmaximum pressure limit is achieved within the bottle. The valve wouldthen automatically switch to the vent position wherein a passageway isopened between the needle and a valve exit so that contents of thebottle can be expelled. The valve would then automatically switch backto the extract position when a lower pressure limit was reached. Thisprocess continues until a desired amount of the liquid content of thebottle is extracted. The bottle is then positioned such that the gaseouscontents of the bottle are in contact with at least a portion of theneedle allowing gas to exit in the vent position prior to extraction ofthe needle. The lower pressure limit could be changed for thisgas-venting procedure to allow a final/controlled pressure within thebottle. This changing of the lower pressure limit could be achievedautomatically through the use of a switch that is activated by thetilting of the bottle (e.g. when the bottle is standing upward theswitch would be activate the lower pressure while when the bottle is onits side the switch would activate the higher pressure.)

Other valves that could be used include, but are not limited to ball,solenoid, pivoted-armature, rotating cylinder, and toggle valves.Additional valves could further be added to the system. For example, asimple two-way check valve placed at the wine exit could be employed tomaintain pressure within the bottle without flow of wine. In this way,wine can be released from the bottle at the users discretion afterpressurization.

It has been found that the maximum value for the upper pressure limit isbetween around 40 and 50 PSI but is optimally between around 15 and 30PSI. These pressures are well tolerated by even the weakest ofcork-to-bottle seals. The lower pressure limit during wine extractioncould be between 1 and 20 PSI lower than the upper pressure limit. Forexample, selecting an upper pressure limit of 30 PSI, it has been foundthat a lower limit of 15-20 PSI maintains an adequate pressure gradientto ensure rapid expulsion of wine through a 17 to 20 gauge needle. Thefinal/controlled pressure (the lower of the lower pressure limits) canbe between 0 and 15 PSI, with an optimal range of 0 to 5 PSI.

The source of pressurized gas can be any of a variety of regulated orunregulated pressurized gas containers filled with a variety ofnon-reactive gasses. In a preferred embodiment, the source consists of acontainer of gas with the gas at an elevated initial pressure (2000-3000psi). This container is then regulated to the desired outlet pressure byeither a fixed or variable regulator. This regulator can be any of avariety of single or two stage regulators available on the market. Thisconfiguration allows the use of conveniently small bottles of compressedgas that contain relatively large quantities of gas capable of emptyingmany bottles of wine. It further insures that the outlet pressure of thevalve is maintained as the pressure within the container of gas changesduring use. Multiple gasses have been tested successfully over extendedperiods of time, but the preferred gasses are nitrogen and argon.Preferably the gas is non-reactive with the fluid within the subjectvessel such as wine and can otherwise protect the fluid from thedeleterious effect of air infiltration or exposure. Nitrogen has theadvantage of being very inexpensive and readily available in a varietyof container sizes and initial pressures. Argon has the advantage ofbeing a completely inert, noble gas as well as being heavier-than-air.By being heavier-than-air, argon minimizes the risk of inadvertentingress of reactive atmospheric gasses during the final venting of thepressurized gas from within the container. Other non or minimallyreactive gases or mixtures thereof also work, for example helium andneon. Preferably, the gas used should be equal to or greater in weightthan air to prevent ingress of unwanted gasses and should have a lowpermeability through cork and/or glass, all resulting in helium beingless preferred. Mixtures of gas are also possible. For example, amixture of argon and another lighter gas would blanket the wine in argonwhile the lighter gas would occupy volume within the bottle and perhapsreduce the overall cost of the gas. Preferred embodiments use disposablemembrane cylinders of nitrogen or argon at storage pressures equal to orgreater than 2500 psi and a simple regulator set at a fixed outletpressure between 15 and 30 PSI.

An alternative source of gas that allows greater volumes to be stored insmaller containers is a liquid that changes phase to gas and expandsonce released from its container.

In one exemplary embodiment a device is provided that has a hollowneedle having an inlet at one end and an outlet at a second end andwherein the needle is adapted to penetrate beyond a closure device (suchas a cork, plug, or septum) sealing a container; a pressurized source ofgas; a pressure regulator capable of reducing the pressure of the gasfrom the pressurized source to a lower pressure at a regulator outlet,wherein the regulator is connected to the pressurized source at aregulator inlet; a valve secured at a first valve inlet to the regulatoroutlet, secured at a first valve outlet to the needle inlet, and havinga second valve outlet for the passage of gas or fluids from within thecontainer; and wherein the valve controls the flow of gas from thepressurized source into the container through the needle and the flow ofgas or fluid from within the container through the needle and out ofsaid valve outlet.

In one exemplary method fluid can be extracted from within a containersealed by a closure device by inserting the outlet of a single lumen,non-coring needle with a smooth exterior wall beyond the closure deviceand into the container; injecting a pressurized non-reactive gas intothe container through the hollow needle thereby causing an increase ofpressure within the container to a level higher than the surroundingatmospheric pressure; allowing the fluid within the container to beforced out of the container by this pressure through the needle until adesired amount of fluid is extracted; and then removing the needle fromthe closure device thereby allowing the closure device to reseal.

Other components can be added to the system to increase itsfunctionality or durability. Of particular utility include a lineardrive mechanism, a container attachment mechanism, a sealing memberretention means, and an anti-buckling mechanism.

A linear drive mechanism is any mechanism that forces the needle to beinserted into and through the closure device or between the closuredevice and container in a linear path. This can help to prevent bucklingof the needle due to side loads or bending moments. This system could beas simple as a single keyed rod passing through a matching keyed holewherein the rod's travel through the hole is along a line co-linear withthe desired needle path. This rod can be connected directly to theneedle or to an intervening device. Further embodiments could includemultiple cylindrical rods that pass through multiple closely matchinground holes or tubes that are co-linear with the desired needle path,among others.

A container attachment mechanism is any mechanism capable of securing orstabilizing at least a portion of the device to the container. This canserve the purpose of again reducing the risk of buckling of the needleby ensuring that the needle path stays fixedly relative to thecontainer. It can also aid in preventing inadvertent withdrawal of theneedle from the container. It can further be used in concert with a corkor sealing member retention means to prevent expulsion of the sealingmember from the container during pressurization. An attachment mechanismcan provide an anchoring location that would give such a sealing memberretention means the stability necessary to hold the sealing member inplace during pressurization. For example, such a retention means couldcomprise a surface of the device that contacts a surface of a sealingmember outside of the container and, when secured to the container by anattachment mechanism, could obstruct the path that the sealing membermust travel to be expelled from the container. Suitable attachmentmechanisms can include, but are not limited to, two clamping arms thatclose about a portion of the container. For example, in the case of awine bottle, these two clamp arms could close about the neck of thebottle. An attachment mechanism could alternatively involve glue,Velcro, threaded attachments that are driven into a wall of thecontainer, suction cups, tape, and the like. The attachment mechanismcould additionally have a releasable lock that acts to releaseablysecure the device to the container. In the case of the clamp arms, sucha lock could include a simple threaded bolt that passes through botharms and has a nut on one end that can be threaded down the bolt toapply varying clamping force to the container and then be unthreaded torelease the container.

An anti-buckling mechanism is any mechanism that acts to reduce the riskof the needle buckling during insertion and withdrawal of the needle.Apposing arms that contact the sides of the needle's length are onepossible embodiment of such a mechanism. The arms could have a slotrunning through a surface of the arm. This slot could be as wide anddeep as the needle diameter. As the needle is advanced into the sealingdevice, these slots would act to resist buckling of the needle byrestraining bending of the needle due to contact between the needlelength and the walls of the slot, giving the needle the opportunity tobend only toward the opening of the slot. Apposing arms could meet at anangle to create unlikely buckling paths offset by this angle. 90 degreeshas been found to be a particularly effective angle. Other anti-bucklingmechanisms are possible and include, but are not limited to, telescopingcylinders along the needle's length, a collapsible sleeve or bellowsthat supports the needle at various points along its length, a stiffcoiled spring that contacts the needle along its inner diameter, or asingle sliding cylinder that contacts the needle at the mid-point of theneedle's exposed length outside of the sealing means during insertionand withdrawal.

Various exemplary embodiments of the device are further depicted anddescribed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment comprising a pencil tip needle connected toa 3-way toggle valve which is in turn connected to a variable regulatorconnected to a compressed gas cylinder. A wine bottle that has beenaccessed by the device is also shown in the Figure. Note that the foil742 covering the corked opening of the bottle is still intact and hasnot been removed but that small needle hole perforation at an insertionpoint 740 is shown.

FIG. 2 depicts a cross section of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. The embodiment consists of a cylinder of compressed gas, afixed pressure regulator, a valve, a needle, and a linear drivemechanism. Details of this embodiment and its use are depicted in FIGS.2A-E.

FIG. 2A is an exploded view of the three-way spool valve used in thisembodiment.

FIG. 2B depicts the valve in its normal position which allows flowbetween the valve exit and the needle.

FIG. 2C depicts the valve in its activated position which allows flowbetween the needle and the regulator.

FIG. 2D depicts the linear drive mechanism attached to the needle withthe linear drive mechanism at its upward most position.

FIG. 2E depicts the linear drive mechanism attached to the needle withthe linear drive mechanism at its downward most position.

FIG. 3A depicts the embodiment positioned on the bottle with the needlepositioned over the wine bottle cork and the linear drive mechanism atits upward most position.

FIG. 3B depicts the linear drive mechanism at its downward most positionwith the needle tip driven through the cork and into the interior of thebottle.

FIG. 3C depicts the system shown in 3B with the bottle tilted on itsside causing the needle tip to come in contact with the liquid contentsof the bottle.

FIG. 3D depicts the system of 3C with the valve activated causing gas ata pressure regulated by the fixed regulator to enter the bottle throughthe needle, increasing the pressure within the bottle.

FIG. 3E depicts the system of 3D with the valve returned to its normalposition, enabling the increased pressure within the bottle to drivewine through the needle and out of the valve exit.

FIG. 3F depicts the bottle returned to an upright position allowingexcess gas from within the bottle to contact the needle tip and ventthrough the valve exit until the pressure equilibrates with atmosphericpressure.

FIG. 3G depicts the system shown in FIG. 3F with the needle withdrawnfrom the bottle and the linear drive mechanism at its upward mostposition.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an alternative embodiment further comprising ananti-buckling mechanism that resists buckling of the needle as it isadvanced into the bottle. It further employs a trumpet valve, a lineardrive mechanism comprising a linear drive shaft and gear, and acontainer attachment or bottle clamping mechanism.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B depict detail of a preferred embodiment of theanti-buckling mechanism. FIG. 5A shows a front view of a swing arm andindicates a swing arm slot which fits over a section of the needlelength to resist buckling. FIG. 5B depicts two swing arms and theirrelationship to each of two swing arm axes and the needle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. This systemuses a pressurized source of gas 100 regulated by a variable regulator600. The cylinder 100 is secured to the pressure regulator 600 by asimple threaded connection. This embodiment employs a 3-way toggle valve300 allowing both extract and vent positions described above. Thissystem also uses a pencil-tip non-coring needle 200 with a needle outletalong the side of the needle length near the needle tip. The connectionbetween the valve 300 either the regulator 600 or needle is shown to berigid. Alternatively these connections could be flexible if desired.

Additional components of a preferred embodiment of the present inventionmay include:

a bottle attachment or clamping mechanism securing the needle to thebottle,

a linear needle drive system to facilitate insertion of the needle intothe bottle along a linear path,

a needle guide that allows insertion of the needle through a particularregion of the cork,

an anti-buckling means to minimize the risk of the needle bucklingduring insertion,

a cork retention means that acts to prevent cork expulsion duringpressurization,

a bottle stand that facilitates holding and/or tilting of the bottleduring the extraction and venting phases,

a pressure meter that allows the user to know the pressure within thebottle and/or the exit pressure of the gas source,

a needle protection means or lock preventing inadvertent injury of theuser by the needle once it is withdrawn from the bottle.

Multiples of these components could be combined into single parts orcomponents serving multiple functions. For example, the anti-bucklingmeans could also serve as a needle protection means, the cork retentionmeans and the needle guide could be combined into a single unit securedto the bottle at the exterior of the cork, and this needle guide/corkretainer could further be a part of the bottle clamping means that maybe further combined with the linear needle drive.

FIG. 2 depicts a cross section of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. The embodiment consists of a cylinder of gas 100 connected toa regulator 600 which is in turn connected to a valve 300. This valve300 is then secured to a needle 200. The needle 200 and/or the valve 300are secured to a linear drive mechanism 400. The pressure withincylinder 100 is preferably considerably higher than the outlet pressureof the regulator 600. Regulator 600 is shown without detail, but can beany of a variety of commercially available single or two stage pressureregulators capable of regulating gas pressures to a pre-set or variableoutlet pressure. The connection of the various components is notdepicted in detail, but can be achieved through either rigid (threaded,welded, taper lock etc.) means or flexible (tubing, o-ring seal, gasketseal) means. The length of such a connection can be varied dependingupon the specifics of the desired application.

FIGS. 2A-C detail a preferred embodiment of a three-way, spool valve 300that has been found particularly useful to control the flow of wine andgas. The valve 300 consists of a piston 310 and a valve body 305. Thepiston 310 employs three o-rings—an upper 312, middle 313, and lower314—to control the flow of fluids and gasses through the valve cylinder301.

In FIG. 2B, the upper 312 and lower 314 o-rings are sealing against theinner walls of the valve cylinder 301, allowing flow between the needleattachment site 303 and the wine exit 304. In this position, flowbetween the gas entrance 302 and the other two ports is prevented by thelower o-ring 314. This is the normal state of the valve with the returnspring 311 holding the cylinder in this position. This is the “vent”position described above which, for convenience, will be referred to asB-C.

In FIG. 2C, the upper 312 and middle 313 o-rings are sealing against theinner walls of the valve cylinder 301, allowing flow between the gasentrance 302 and the needle attachment site 303. Flow between the wineexit 304 and the other two ports is prevented by o-ring 313 in thisposition. This is the “extract” position described above which, forconvenience, will be referred to as A-B. The user achieves this valveposition by pushing down on piston 310 compressing the return spring311. Once the user stops depressing the valve piston 310, the returnspring 311 causes the piston to return to position B-C depicted in FIG.2B.

FIGS. 2D and 2E detail an embodiment of a linear drive mechanism 400. Inthis embodiment, two cylindrical rods (front rod 410 and back rod 420)pass through two closely matching rod holes (front rod hole 460 and backrod hole 470). These two rods are securely attached to upper piece 430which is also secured to needle 200. The offset of the two rods createsa resistance to angulations of or side loads on needle 200 by providinga resistive moment. This insures that the needle 200 can travel into andout of a cork only along a line co-linear with the rods.

A flat has further been cut onto the front surface of front rod 410.This flat acts in concert with rod stop 450 to restrict the upwardtravel of the needle 200 relative to the bottom piece 440 when stopsurface 415 on front rod 410 engages rod stop 450. This method couldalso be used to limit downward travel of the needle 200 relative tobottom piece 440. FIG. 2D illustrates the needle 200 at full upwardtravel while FIG. 2E illustrates the needle 200 at full downward travelrelative to bottom piece 440.

During use, the needle guide 480 and its through hole 485 are positionedabove the cork of a wine bottle and are secured to or part of bottompiece 440. In this embodiment, the needle guide 480 could be used as acork retainer if a bottle clamping mechanism is incorporated into bottompiece 440. Such a bottle clamping mechanism has been left out of thisembodiment to detail the other components of the system, but couldreadily be added. Various embodiments of such a clamping mechanism aredescribed below in alternate embodiments.

FIGS. 3A-3G illustrate the use of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2 anddetailed in FIGS. 2A-E. In FIG. 3A, the bottom piece 440 has been placedon top of wine bottle 700 with the upper piece 430 at full upwardtravel. The valve is in its normal position B-C. The wine 710 and gas720 within the bottle 700 are in their undisturbed state as bottled bythe vintner. FIG. 3B depicts the needle outlet 220 beyond cork 730 andwithin bottle 700 with the upper piece 430 at full downward travel. Thisposition is achieved by simply pushing downward on valve 300 or upperpiece 430. The valve 300 is still in its normal B-C position.

In FIG. 3C, the bottle has been tilted on its side, causing wine 710 tocontact the needle outlet 220. In FIG. 3D, the valve has been moved bythe user into its A-B position, allowing pressurized gas 120 from withincylinder 100 to pass through the regulator 600 at its upper pressuresetting, through gas entrance 302, through needle attachment 303, out ofneedle outlet 220 into wine 710 within the bottle 700. This gas 120increases the pressure within the bottle until it reaches equilibriumwith the gas pressure determined by the regulator 600. In FIG. 3E, thevalve 300 has been allowed to return to its normal state B-C, opening apath between the needle outlet 220 and the wine exit 304. The wine 710is now driven by the elevated pressure of the gasses 720 and 120 withinthe bottle through the needle outlet 220 and out of valve 300. This flowwill continue until pressure within the bottle equilibrates withatmospheric pressure if the user wishes. However, excess pressure can beallowed to vent by simply standing the bottle upright, as depicted inFIG. 3F. Once the bottle is upright, the gasses 720 and 120 within thebottle are in contact with the needle outlet 220 and can vent from valve300 with the valve in its normal position B-C. Once the pressure hasreached a desired level, the needle can be withdrawn from the cork 730by pulling upward on the upper piece 430 or valve 300 until the upperpiece reaches its upward most travel. The bottom piece 440 and the restof the system can then be removed from bottle 700.

It has been found that corks accessed by such a system, particularlywith a smooth walled exterior, pencil point or Huber point needle of 16gauge or higher, seal effectively and prevent the ingress or egress ofgases or fluids and can be stored in the same way as an un-accessedbottle for years without abnormal alteration of the wines flavor. Otherneedle profiles and gauges are also usable with the system.

In the above described embodiment, the needle guide through hole 485 isdepicted over the center of the cork 730. Alternatively, the throughhole 485 could be offset from the center of cork 730 to decrease thepotential that multiple uses of the system will allow the needle to passthrough the same site in the cork.

An alternative embodiment is depicted in FIG. 4. This embodiment employsan alternate linear drive system, a bottle clamping mechanism, adifferent configuration of 3-way spool or trumpet valve, and ananti-bucking mechanism.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of this exemplary embodiment in amulti-component, assembled fashion. On the upper left the figure is acylinder of compressed gas 100 attached to a regulator 600. Below theregulator 600 is a trumpet valve 300. Below valve 300 are the needle200, anti-buckling assembly 800, linear drive mechanism 400, needleguide and cork retention means 480, and bottle clamp 500. The regulator600 of this embodiment is a variable regulator. It has a simple threadedattachment to the compressed gas cylinder 100. The trumpet valve 300 isattached to the regulator 600 through a simple Luer connector. The valve300 is actuated by depressing the piston 310 shown in FIG. 4. This valve300 is a simple trumpet or spool valve. With the piston 310 in theun-depressed position, the valve 300 is opened such that fluid can flowfrom the needle 200 and out of the valve exit 304 (position B-C or ventposition). When the piston 310 is depressed, gas can flow from theregulator 600 through the needle 200 (position A-B or extract position).

The linear drive mechanism 400 of this embodiment consists of a steelshaft or front rod 410 and gear 490 toward the bottom of the figure. Thefront rod 410 passes through a closely matching hole 460 in lower piece440. Gear 490 is a rack and pinion system wherein when the circular gearturns, the gear teeth mesh causing the needle to be driven downward intothe cork or upward out of the cork depending upon the rotationaldirection of the circular gear.

The clamp mechanism 500 and the anti-buckling mechanism 800. Theanti-buckling system 800 comprises two steel rods 810 and seven swingarms 820 pivoting about rods 810. Each swing arm has a proximal end witha through hole for the steel rod 810 and a small slot cut at theiropposite end which fits over the needle 200 along its length. Each steelrod 810 acts as an axis about which the arms 820 swing. Each arm's slotopposes the neighboring arm's slot. These opposite facing slots act toentrap the needle 200 and prevent it from buckling along 270° of thecircumference of the needle at any one arm 820. Because the slots opposeeach other, it is highly unlikely that the needle 200 can buckle along alength greater than the length of any individual slot.

Even along one slot, the needle 200 can only buckle in the directionthat the slot is open, eliminating the risk of buckling along 270° ofthe needle circumference. These axes 810 are spaced from each other suchthat alternate swing arms meet at an angle. A particularly preferredangle of intersection of the swing arms is 90°, but a range between 45and 135 is also acceptable. By alternating the swing arms 820 in thisfashion the needle slot of each swing arm 820 has an opening that isoffset by roughly 90 degrees from its neighboring swing arm 820. Thisradically reduces the risk of needle 200 buckling as the ability tobuckle in any single plane is eliminated. The needle 200 can only bucklealong any one length supported by any one swing arm 820 in the directionthat the needle slot is open. As the tendency to buckle is stronglydependent upon the free length available to buckle, the risk of bucklingis exponentially lower than an unprotected needle. A particularly usefulswing arm slot length has been found to be less than 0.5 inches forneedles within the preferred gauge range of 17 to 20 with a particularlyuseful length being 0.25 inches. The slot width and depth preferablyclosely matches the diameter of the needle used.

In this embodiment, the needle 200 moves through the anti-bucklingmechanism 800 as it is advanced into the bottle's cork. As the needle200 moves, a small taper on the needle's hub 240 pushes the swing arms820 outward allowing the needle 200 to pass. There is also an elasticband 830 which acts to return the swing arms 820 to the needle 200 afterthey have been moved aside by the needle hub 240 or the hub extenders250. This elastic band 830 essentially acts as a return spring. Theextended needle hubs 250, depicted here as white cones, guide the swingarms 820 around the needle hub 240 and its larger base at the upperpiece 430 without catching any edge due to the force of the elastic band830. Alternative embodiments of the anti-buckling mechanism mightinclude a series of telescoping cylinders, a single sliding cylinder, acollapsible bellows that makes contact with the needle at the narrowestdiameter of the bellows, or a stiff coiled spring making contact withthe needle diameter at the spring's inner surface.

The bottle clamping mechanism 500 consists of two simple clamping arms510 and a locking mechanism comprised of a screw 520 and nut 530 tosecure the arms 510 at a fixed position. Each clamp arm swings about anaxis 540. This clamping mechanism 500 also ensures that the cork iscentered beneath the needle 200 and that the needle guide and corkretaining system rests atop the bottle cork or sealing means.

A combined needle guide and cork retaining system 480 is shown as asimple disk with a small hole equal to or greater in diameter than theneedle diameter that passes through its center. When the clampingmechanism 500 is secured to the bottle 700, this component 480preferably rests against the upper surface of the cork as depicted inFIG. 4E. As this component 480 is fixed in position relative to theclamping arms 510, it acts to secure the cork in position duringpressurization of the bottle.

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict further detail of the anti-buckling mechanism 800shown in FIGS. 4. FIG. 5A shows a front view of a swing arm 820 with aslot 840 running along one end. FIG. 5B shows how this slot 840 fitsover a length of the needle 200. In this figure, the swing arm 820 onthe left constrains the needle 200 within slot 840. The swing arm 820 onright has swung away from the needle 200 about axis 810. When both swingarms 820 are engaging the needle 200, the needle is constrained suchthat the risk of needle buckling is reduced. By using multiple,alternating swing arms, the needle can be protected against bucklingduring advancement into and through a cork.

Alternative embodiments of the device might be integral to a bottlestand. In this embodiment there may be no need for a bottle clamp. Thebottle could simply be slid along the bottle stand into the needle andanti-buckling mechanism. In this fashion the bottle would be on its sideduring insertion of the needle better guaranteeing contact between theneedle tip and the fluid within the bottle. After use, the stand couldbe pivoted upward to allow the gas to vent.

In still further embodiments there might be more than one needle. Twoneedles would allow insertion of gas and extraction of fluid at the sametime. One needle would be dedicated to allowing ingress of gas and wouldbe connected to the pressurized gas source, while the other needle wouldallow the extraction of wine or fluid from within the bottle. In such anembodiment there may be no need for the trumpet valve described above,but simply for an on-off switch for the pressurized gas source. Theneedles can have the same or different diameters or the same ordifferent length varying from 0.25 to 10 inches. For example, one needledelivering gas could be longer than another that extracts wine from thebottle. This could also be achieved with a two lumen needle wherein gaswould travel down one lumen and wine would travel up the other. Eachlumen could have a separate entrance and exit. These exits could bespaced from each other within the bottle to prevent circulation of gas.

Still further embodiments may employ a dilator instead of a needle. Sucha dilator could be passed between the cork and the bottle wall into thewine, leaving no damage to the cork itself. Such a dilator could becannulated and arcuately shaped to best match the outer diameter of thecork.

The bottle clamping mechanism employed in the above describedembodiments comprises two clamping handles pivoting around axes securedto the bottom piece. These handles are lockable to the wine bottlethrough the use of a clamp bolt/screw and nut. Many alternativeembodiments of a bottle clamp are possible. Alternatives to the bolt andnut lock include, but are not limited to a ratcheting lock, or a simplestrap that can be slid down or wrapped around the swing arms, lockslocated at the axes of the swing arms, etc. The clamp handles could bereplaced by a cylinder that fits over the wine bottle neck. Such acylinder could have a split wall with a conically tapered outer surface.An outer ring could be slid along the conical surface to cause the innerdiameter of the cylinder to decrease, clamping the cylinder about thebottle neck. A locking feature between the ring and the cylinder couldbe used to lock the cylinder to the bottle. This cylinder could beincorporated into the bottom piece.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreferences to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the scope of the inventionencompassed by the appended claims.

1. A method of extracting fluid from within a container sealed by a corkcomprising the steps of: inserting a needle through the cork and intothe container while the container remains sealed by the cork, the needlehaving at least one lumen; injecting a gas into the container through alumen of the needle; removing fluid from the container through a lumenof the needle; and removing the needle from the cork thereby allowingthe cork to reseal such that passage of fluid and gas through the corkafter the needle is removed is prevented.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the cork is positioned in an opening of the bottle to seal thebottle closed, and the cork is not removed from the opening during thesteps of inserting, injecting, removing fluid and removing the needle.3. The method of claim 2, further comprising engaging the containerproximal to the cork and restricting the cork from being expelled fromthe container.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of insertingincludes inserting the needle through a foil cover over a part of thecork such that the steps of injecting, removing fluid and removing theneedle are performed without removing the foil.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the needle is a non-coring needle and comprises a singlelumen.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising engaging thecontainer to stabilize the needle during the inserting and/or removingsteps.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of injecting includescausing an increase of pressure within the container to a level higherthan a surrounding atmospheric pressure.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of injecting includes regulating delivery of the gasinto the container such that flow of the fluid to exit the container isenabled and a pressure in the container is limited to prevent expulsionof the cork or leakage of gas or fluid around the cork.
 9. The method ofclaims 8, wherein the step of inserting a needle includes insertingfirst and second needles, the step of injecting includes injecting gasthrough a lumen of the first needle, and the step of removing fluidincludes removing fluid through a lumen of the second needle.
 10. A wineextraction device for the extraction of wine from within a bottle sealedby a cork, comprising: a needle having an inlet and an outlet andwherein the needle is adapted to penetrate through the cork such thatthe outlet is passed through the cork and positioned within the bottlewith the inlet positioned outside of the bottle; a pressurized source ofgas; a pressure regulator having a regulator inlet fluidly connected tothe pressurized source and a regulator outlet, the pressure regulatoroperable to reduce a pressure of gas provided from the pressurizedsource to a lower pressure at the regulator outlet, the lower pressureselected to cause flow of wine out of the bottle through the needlewhile preventing an expulsion of the cork from the bottle; and a valvehaving a first valve inlet fluidly connected to the pressure regulatoroutlet and a first valve outlet fluidly connected to the needle inlet,the valve being arranged to control gas flow from the pressure regulatoroutlet to the needle inlet such that gas is controllably delivered intothe bottle through the needle, wherein the needle is arranged topenetrate through the cork to deliver gas into the bottle and conductwine out of the bottle, and such that upon removal of the needle fromthe cork, the cork reseals to prevent passage of fluid and gas throughthe cork.
 12. The device of claim 10, wherein the valve includes asecond valve outlet fluidly coupled to the needle inlet and the valve isarranged to control flow of wine from the needle outlet to the secondvalve outlet.
 13. The device of claim 10, wherein the needle is a hollownon-coring needle with a single lumen.
 14. The device of claim 10,wherein the needle is operable to penetrate through a foil-covered corkwithout damaging an ability of the cork to reseal the bottle afterremoval of the needle from the cork.
 15. The device of claim 10, furthercomprising an attachment mechanism arranged to secure at least a portionof the device to the bottle.
 16. The device of claim 10, furthercomprising an anti-buckling mechanism capable of reducing needlebuckling during advancement of the needle through the cork.
 17. Thedevice of claim 10, further comprising a cork retainer operable torestrict expulsion of the cork from the bottle.
 18. The device of claim10, wherein the gas is an inert gas or gas that minimally reacts withwine.
 19. The device of claim 10, wherein the needle includes a pencilpoint needle and the needle outlet includes at least one hole at a sideof the needle.
 20. The device of claim 10, wherein the valve is from aselected group consisting of spool, trumpet, toggle, and solenoid. 21.The device of claim 10, wherein the pressure source is a gas cylinderarranged to hold gas at a pressure of greater than 100 psi.
 22. Thedevice in claim 10, wherein the pressure regulator is arranged to reducea pressure of gas from the pressure source to a pressure of between 15and 50 psi.
 23. The device of claim 10, wherein the needle includes afirst needle with the inlet and the outlet, and a second needle arrangedto conduct wine out of the bottle.